Irvington at 150: Street Names E-H

Irvington street names have a complicated history. Many of the avenues have been called by numerous names. In this second part of the series, you will note that some of the meandering paths in the neighborhood were named after local farm families, famous American writers, and investors. We do not know the origin of all of the names, but thanks to the hard work of a local historian, Larry Muncie, we do have precise dates for their naming. Feel free to contact us if you have more information!

Edmondson Avenue: Little is known about the origin of this street. It first appears in the Indianapolis City Directory in 1928. When Warren Park incorporated in the late 1920s, Edmondson Avenue became an eastern boundary for that neighborhood. More research is needed on this street.

Ellenberger Parkway:  In the mid-1920s, city officials began construction on Ellenberger Parkway; however, they did not pave nor link it with Tenth Street, which upset a few local residents. (Indianapolis Star, May 19. 1925) With the availability of federal funds during the Great Depression and working with the WPA, the parkway was completed by the mid-1930s. (Indianapolis Star, December 20, 1935, 18) The avenue was named for the prominent Ellenberger family who also sold the land for the nearby park. 

Members of the Ellenberger family gathered for a reunion at the family home at 5602 East 10th Street in 1914. Both a park and a nearby street are named for the Ellenbergers. 

Elizabeth Street: Although the name of the street is unknown at this time, we do know that many of the homes built along that stretch were developed by the Vogel Company in Wagner's Addition in 1941. The investors invited the public to tour twelve new residences on September 7, 1941. Two months later, the United States entered World War II.

Indianapolis Star, September 7, 1941, 31

Emerson Avenue: Now a busy thoroughfare, Emerson Avenue began as a quiet street called National Avenue until 1898. The Irvington Town Board changed the name to Emerson after the essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1802-1882). Mr. Emerson would have likely been pleased that two of his good friends, George Bancroft and Nathaniel Hawthorne, also had streets named for them in the new college town, but he died before the renaming. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1802-1882) never knew that the little town of Irvington named a street for him. (public domain)

English Avenue: On September 1, 1873, city officials approved the contract to improve the first half mile of a new street in Irvington called "English" Avenue. The street was named after William Hayden English (1822-1896), a prominent banker and politician in Indianapolis. (Indianapolis News, September 2, 1873, 2) 

William Hayden English, a capitalist and politician, built an opera house and hotel on Monument Circle in Indianapolis. (public domain) 

Farrington Avenue: After World War II, developers scrambled to build houses for the returning veterans who were starting their families. With assistance from the FHA and the GI Bill, families could apply for loans and purchase brand new two or three-bedroom residences along Farrington Avenue in the late 1940s and early 1950s. E. G. Bauer & Son built many of the houses along the new street. 

Fletcher Avenue: While Fletcher Avenue is most often associated with a near south side Indianapolis neighborhood, the street has a short stretch through southwestern Irvington. The street is named after Calvin Fletcher, an early resident of Indianapolis who went on to become a banker, farmer, and a politician. 

Calvin Fletcher (1796-1866) was an early leader in Indianapolis. His multi-volume diary captured life in the young capital and was later published by the Indiana Historical Society (public domain)

Good Avenue: Walter and Ada Good joined Jacob Julian, Sylvester Johnson, and Lycurgus Rawles in platting most of southern Irvington in January of 1873. As a thank you for his investment, a small street north of Dewey (then East) and south of Bonna (then Railroad) was named Good Avenue. Later in 1903, the city of Indianapolis renamed South Street in between University Avenue and Rawles as Good Avenue as well. 

Graham Avenue: While it is unconfirmed at this moment, it is believed that Graham Avenue was named for William Henry Harrison Graham, a local resident and investor. Mr. Graham and his wife Ellen built a beautiful home on University Avenue. In 1897, he became the American consul at Winnipeg, Canada. He also went into business with Charles Brouse, who helped to develop several sections of Irvington. His widow, Ellen Graham, entered the history books when she sold their beautiful home to D.C. Stephenson, the Grand Dragon of the KKK in Indiana and the Midwest. 

Grand Avenue: The street used to be longer as it stretched from Audubon Road to Brookville Road, but the town board realized that it was a confusing route so the section from Audubon Road to Ritter Avenue was changed to Burgess Avenue. Only a small section of the street remains today. The name appears to be generic. 

Greenfield Avenue: Perhaps when Jacob Julian and Sylvester Johnson named a small stretch as Greenfield Avenue, they had hoped that one day the path might connect to the nearby Hancock County city. Both men were from Centerville, Indiana and would have passed through Greenfield along the National Road on their way to and from Irvington. Greenfield Avenue, however, never managed to make it out Irvington. 

Hawthorne Lane: In 1898, the Irvington Town Board chose to name both Commercial and Blount Streets after Nathaniel Hawthorne, the popular writer. Mr. Hawthorne died before the founding of the town, but his works like Scarlet Letter and Twice Told Tales would have rested on many bookshelves throughout the neighborhood. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was much admired by many in Irvington.

Hibben Avenue: In December of 1913, the Irvington Improvement Association announced the exciting news that lots on a new street called Hibben Avenue would now be for sale. (Indianapolis Star, December 4, 1913, 4) The small street stretched from Downey to Ritter Avenue. The Association named the street for the wealthy Hibben family who dwelled in a villa at 5433 University Avenue. Thomas Hibben earned his fortune in the wholesale trade. His children were equally as talented. Paxton Hibben, a brilliant student, went on to become an author and a diplomat. Thomas Hibben, Jr. was an architect who designed buildings on Butler's Fairview campus while James Hibben taught chemistry at Princeton University. His daughter, Helene Hibben, was a prominent sculptor who opened an early kindergarten where the children spoke French. Her sister Hazen assisted her. The house where they lived on University was the previous home to the Downey and Thompson families; thus, three street names came from one house: Downey, Bonna, and Hibben. 

Courtesy of Hibben family descendants via Ancestry.com

Courtesy of the Hibben family descendants via Ancestry.com

Courtesy of Hibben family descendants via Ancestry.com 

Hill Street: It appears that the small street located in Ritter's Lowell Subdivision was laid out in 1911. Curbs and sidewalks were not added until 1913. (Indianapolis Star, October 4, 1913, 3) Since there is a slight hill on the avenue, it appears that the name is geographical in nature. 

Howe Drive: Named for the nearby high school and a former president of Butler University, the narrow street has served as a conduit for thousands of teenagers over the decades. The residents of Irvington had long wanted a high school so when they finally received one in 1938 they decided to name it after Thomas Carr Howe (1867-1934). Mr. Howe served Butler University as a professor, dean, and as president. His untimely death, after being struck by an auto, shocked the community. 

Thomas Carr Howe, a former president of Butler University (public domain) 

Sources: Larry Muncie, Three Windows on Irvington History, 1989; "Changes in Street Names," Indianapolis Journal, January 18, 1903, 3; "Irvington's New Names," Indianapolis News, November 3, 1898, 7; "Would Change Names of 149 Streets in City," Indianapolis News, December 18, 1916, 8; Interviews with Steve Barnett and Larry Muncie, 2020. 

Early Photos of an Irvington Avenue Home

Florence and Marcia Doan, who grew up at 47 North Irvington Avenue, frequently played in the lot north of their home. Their father, Wilson Doan, was a prominent attorney who later sold one of his lots to his law partner, Charles Orbison around 1906. Before the sale of the lot, the Doans enjoyed the use of the wide open space. Photographs from 1903-05 show the girls playing in the lot with other neighborhood children and even enjoying a horse-driven wagon ride. Behind the kids in most of the photos, you can see the home of Jesse and Sarah Josephine Stuart Lowes at 59 North Irvington Avenue.

Jesse Lowes and Sarah Stuart married on November 23, 1892. Shortly after their marriage, the couple moved into their Irvington home around 1895. It is not known at this time if they built the house or if they are the second owners. The Indianapolis Journal noted in a "Society" snip in 1896 that the couple hosted some of Sarah's family from Acton, Indiana on Elm Avenue, the former name of Irvington Avenue. The couple had one daughter, Eunice Isabella, who likely played with Florence and Marcia next door.

Mr. Lowes first tried his luck as a grocer at 203 South Audubon Road along with Arthur L. Porter, but that partnership dissolved in 1900. He also became active in Republican Party politics and was one of the founders of the Irvington Republican Party Club. He worked for various Senators and even sold his Irvington Avenue home and moved to Washington DC with his family around 1905 to work in the US Senate. Upon his return to Indianapolis, the voters of Warren Township elected him as their Assessor in the 1920s.

Mrs. Lowes made headlines years later in 1925 when she testified at the murder trial of D.C. Stephenson, who was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. At the time, the Lowes lived on Hibben Avenue just behind the Stephenson home. Mrs. Lowes testified that she heard the screams of Madge Oberholtzer in the middle of night on March 17, 1925, along with the sounds of barking dogs, which belonged to Stephenson. Her testimony along with many others helped to convict the Klansman of murder.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Lowes passed away in 1945 while their daughter, Eunice, who married Kenneth Johnson, died in 1990 at the age of 97. Their former home at 59 North Irvington Avenue was later enlarged and cut into apartments. To learn about another family, who lived in the house from the 1920s to the 1940s, click on "Adams Family" link below.

Marcia and Florence Doan gathered on the front porch at 59 North Irvington Avenue c1904. The older lady is possibly Sarah Lowes and the young girl next to her is possibly Eunice Isabella Lowes.
(Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Florence Doan, who is standing barefooted in the tall grass next to her home at 47 North Irvington Avenue pulls her sister Marcia and an unidentified boy in a wagon. Behind the kids, you can see an empty lot and the Lowes family home at 59 North Irvington Avenue in June of 1903. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Marcia and Florence Doan, who lived at 47 North Irvington Avenue, posed in their side yard c1904. Behind the girls, you can see the Lowes home at 59 North Irvington Avenue complete with a windmill under construction in the backyard. In the far distance you can see the Ingersoll residence that used to stand at 5408 Lowell Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Florence Doan pushes her sister Marcia in a wheelbarrow next to their family's home at 47 North Irvington Avenue (then called 27 North Elm Avenue) c1903. Behind the girls, you can 59 North Irvington Avenue (then called 37 North Elm Avenue). Jessse and Sarah Lowes lived in that house along with their daughter Eunice. Across the street, you can see the cottage located at 72 North Irvington Avenue. That house has been greatly modified over the years. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Tall grass and weeds stands on an empty lot behind the Doan sisters on a summer's day most likely in 1903. The house most visible in the photo is that of 59 North Irvington Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

On a wintry day, the Doan sisters posed for a photograph near their front porch at 47 North Irvington Avenue c1903. Behind the sisters, you can see the house at 59 North Irvington Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

59 North Irvington has been enlarged over the years and converted into apartments. (photo taken in the winter of 2020)

    To see more images from the Indiana Album, click on the link below:
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/randomimages

I wish to thank Jim and Ann Brown for their wonderful hospitality and assistance with these posts and the Indiana Album, a digital museum dedicated to capturing images from throughout the state including Irvington.

Sources:  1900 Federal Census; Obituary for Jesse Lowes, Indianapolis News, March 3, 1945, 14; Early house--Indianapolis Journal, July 19, 1896, 13; Mr. Lowes jobs--Indianapolis News, February 3, 1900, 13; Indianapolis News, December 15, 1903, 3; Mrs. Lowes and DC Stephenson Trial--Noblesville Ledger, November 3, 1925, 2.

Who Lived Here? A Brick House for a Brick Salesman

In 1923, Jacob Halleck Zinn and Mildred Keeport Zinn moved into their brand new brick bungalow at 5435 Hibben Avenue. The couple had previously dwelled at 139 South Ritter Avenue. Mr. Zinn had made a comfortable living as a clay salesman for the William Dees Company. Contacts in that industry likely gave him the opportunity to build the only brick single-family house along Hibben Avenue. Prior to moving to his new home, he patented a "sanitary" sewer pipe in 1909. It is unknown if profits from his newly designed pipe aided his bank account. By 1926, he worked for the Brooklyn Brick Company. The couple were likely thinking about their future when they built the one-story residence adjacent to the Pennsylvania Railroad. Mr. Zinn was 53 years and she was 48. They managed to weather the Great Depression in the home. The 1930 Federal Census reveals that the house was worth $12,000 at the time and one of the most valuable along the street. The couple had one son, Manvel, although he was an adult and living in New York City by the time they moved into their new house. Sadly, Mr. Zinn passed away in 1936 at the age of 59. Mrs. Zinn moved away from Indianapolis and died in 1944. In 2015, the lovely brick cottage looks much as it did in 1923 when the Zinns took up housekeeping.

5435 Hibben Avenue in the autumn of 2015

Aerial Photo Reveals Structures in Western Irvington-c1923

This stunning aerial photo, taken in the skies over Irvington around 1923, shows vast parts of the neighborhood.  The pilot from Weaver's Air Service must have used Downey Avenue Christian Church as his focus.  You will see that building towards the bottom of the photo.  This church predates the current structure on the site.  The Sunday School building south of the church is no longer standing.  Across the street, you can see the Scot Butler mansion at 124 Downey Avenue.  It was replaced in 1958 by a circular mid-century office building for the Disciples of Christ.  Most of the remaining structures in the photo still stand in 2013.  Our Lady of Lourdes Church, located in the center and left of the photo, is an earlier church structure.  Streets visible in this photo include:  Hibben Avenue, Julian Avenue, Downey Avenue, East Washington Street, North and South Irvington Avenue, Whittier Place, North Hawthorne Lane, Pleasant Run Parkway South Drive, Lowell Avenue, and Hill Street.   Many of the homes along Pleasant Run Parkway had not yet been built.

Aerial shot of western Irvington c1924 (click to make it larger)

Cycling in Irvington--1920s

By the mid-1920s, all of the streets and most of the alleys in Irvington were bricked or paved.  Cycling had been a craze in the US since the late nineteenth century.  Cycling clubs sprang up around Indianapolis and in the neighborhood.  The Vollrath brothers of 218 South Audubon Road actually built a track on a long and vacant lot along Hibben Avenue for a race.  The Indianapolis Star covered the event and reported that Carl Vollrath to be not only the designer of the track, but also the winner of the competition.

In these historic photos, you can see a photo of Carl Vollrath and his friend Donald after winning the race in 1926.  Their trophies are proudly displayed in the next pictures.  In the last photo, a young Victor Vollrath rides his bike on a vacant lot south of his home at 218 South Audubon Road in 1927.  You can see some of the doubles in the 200 block across the street.  The historic images are courtesy of Dr. Victor Vollrath.

One Year and Still Going Strong! Aerial Photo of Irvington in 1970

Vintage Irvington reached a milestone this week. One year ago I jumped into the idea of creating a blog dedicated to documenting Irvington's historic and near recent past. I was not sure if I would have enough material, but thanks to all of you the photos, letters, journals, and pieces of ephemeral keep coming. Send me scanned photos of your family's home! I would love to profile and celebrate your Irvington heritage. You may reach me at sleeth28@rock.com.

In honor of the one year anniversary, I hope you enjoy this aerial photo taken of Irvington in 1970. The pilot hovered just above the tower of Our Lady of Lourdes Church so that the photographer could take a south and slightly southeastern shot of the neighborhood. Some of the structures seen in the photo are no longer standing and folks in that part of Irvington will also notice trees that have come and gone since 1970. This photo first appeared in Gertrude Hecker Winder's book, A Glimpse of Irvington Then and Now, 1870-1970.

Hibben Avenue in Irvington

Hibben Avenue, named for a prominent Irvington family, is one of the "newer" streets in the neighborhood. The avenue is filled with modest homes built after 1917. The first resident of the block was Jesse Lowes and his family. They dwelled at 5442 Hibben. By 1922 contractors had built seven more homes. In 1923 George Bell lived at 5423 Hibben. Throughout the mid-1920s that home served as the headquarters for the Butler fraternity Tau Kappa Tau. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, a manufacturing agent, Paul G. Craver and his family lived in the small bungalow.

The images reveal Hibben Avenue today and in 1924. The picture of the oldest house on the block was taken in the summer of 2011. (5442 Hibben Avenue) It is the first image of a home in the series. Another contemporary shot shows the south side of the street. The historic image, taken in 1924, shows the Tau Kappa Tau house, and the contemporary photo reveals the structure today. More research is needed on this interesting street.